Seize the Moment – Day 917
Trust God with your Worst Decisions!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 20.
Did you know that God can redeem your worst decisions and most painful moments?
In 1 Chronicles 21, David made a bad decision by ordering a census (1-2). Regardless of what motivated him to make this decision,[1] he did so against the counsel of his trusted general (3-4). God’s judgment was swift, leading to the deaths of 70,000 men by pestilence (14). In verses 15-17, David and the elders cried out to God for mercy as “the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (15).
In verse 18, God, in His mercy, provided a way out, “Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” Very interestingly, the location of David’s altar became the future location of Solomon’s temple. As 2 Chronicles 3:1 reminds the people of this at the time of the building of the temple, “Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” God chose the location for the temple in a place to remind His people of both His judgment and His mercy!
God loves to redeem our worst decisions and our most painful moments to bring about a redemptive purpose for that event that will bless us and others. The key is to follow David’s example, not in making a bad decision, you don’t need encouragement to do that, but in crying out to God for mercy once you realize you’ve made one.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When you compare 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 with its parallel account in 2 Samuel 24:1-2, they are nearly identical historical accounts minus one key point – the responsible party for motivating David to take the census. In the older account of 2 Samuel 24:1, it says, “Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David …”; whereas 1 Chronicles 21:1 states, “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.”
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Seize the Moment – Day 916
It Takes More Than a Leader!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, September 19.
It takes more than a leader to complete a job!
David had his part to play, but so did other people. Verses 4-8 describes how three different warriors defeated three giants. Previously, only David could do that! We learn that even though a leader may fall, others will arise to win the victories, which, in this case, was to defeat the giants in the land. This was a message of hope, and a call for a unified national effort to rebuild Jerusalem – to face the giants of today. While the postexilic Israelites did have great leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah, it would take all the people working together to complete the job.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Martin J. Selman, 1 Chronicles: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 10, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 205.
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Power
POWER
Overview
Romans 6:1–14 was a pivotal passage in Paul’s letter. On the one hand it was the culmination of Paul’s presentation that those who are spiritually dead can have life—through union with Jesus! It was also the launching pad for another presentation: an affirmation of freedom to live a righteous life. Here, in brief, is the line of thought Paul has.
Not Under Law, But Under Grace (Rom. 6:14)
(Digression: are we then free to sin? [6:15–23])
How can we legally be freed from the Law? (7:1–3)
Why must we be freed from the Law? (7:4–6)
(Digression: if the Law is so closely linked to sin, is Law evil? [7:7–12])
What happens to a believer who tries to relate to God through Law? (7:13–25)
What happens to a believer who relates to God through the Holy Spirit? (8:1–8)
(What is the source of our victory experience? (8:9–17))
Keeping this simple line of thought in mind can help us understand the powerful teaching of this vital New Testament passage. We often picture Romans as a doctrinal book, full of deep and difficult truth. However, there are some who think the Book of Romans is totally practical. In seeking to understand the human condition, Paul simply looked around him, and saw people experience a daily demonstration of the reality of sin.
In seeking to explain faith, Paul simply went back to Abraham. He saw that for Abraham faith meant unwavering trust in God’s promise. And in turn his unwavering trust led Abraham to respond to God’s word. He was submitted. (Remember that word)
Another example of Paul’s practicality was when he turned his attention to how faith works in us to produce a righteous life. He explored how we find the freedom to be righteous. Oh, it is good to know that sin in his life (and ours) had for him and has been for us “rendered inoperative.” In other words, we no longer have to obey it.
But we do still feel its pull, don’t we?! At times when we honestly want to respond to God, we may find ourselves choosing the opposite way. So, you ask – What does it take for us to live victoriously? How do we experience the flow of the divine power?
Paul’s answer was simple, but surprising. “Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under Law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). We must be released from the Law to live a Christian life under grace and experience freedom. (Remember the word freedom.)
Chapters 7 and 8 in Roman’s hinge on this point. So, let’s look at some answers he provides.
How can we legally be free from the Law? (Rom. 7:1–3)
Paul turned to marriage for an illustration. A married couple is bound to each other under the Law until one of them dies. The death of a partner frees both, so that the living partner is free to remarry. Our union with Jesus is a real union too, so when He died, we were legally released from any obligation to the Law. God considers us to have “died to the Law through the body of Christ” (v. 4), and so to be free from any past obligation to live “under” it (6:14).
Why must we be freed from the Law? (Rom. 7:4-6)
This is an extremely significant question. It is, in fact, central to the Bible’s whole teaching on the Law and the believer. What Paul said here is that the old nature (our “sinful passions”) is aroused (literally “stimulated,” or “energized”) by the Law!
(v 8 Do not covet produced in me every kind of covetous desire.)
And the result of this stimulation is that we produce sin’s deadly fruit. But since we are “not under Law,” we can relate to God in a new way! This new way is by the Spirit, who speaks to us directly from within. And, while Law energized the old nature, the Spirit stimulates the new nature! The result of the Spirit’s ministry is that we produce the fruit of righteousness.
Scripture is clear about our two natures. The old nature and new nature blend to form my conscious self yet they are distinct.
The point is: The old and new natures are channels through which our lives are controlled, either by sin or by God
The problem I hope to address today is: How are these two channels opened? What can we do to experience God’s control?
We see the energizing principle at work everywhere. The child who is told, “Don’t touch the cookies, they’re for company,” finds his hunger for a cookie increased! The forbidden seems far more desirable. Those covetous desires Paul spoke about.
The believer has two natures. The Old with its focus on self. That nature is self-centered. It always focuses on MY way. That is sin dwelling in me. The New Nature with its focus on submitting to the Spirit. There’s that word submit again. The new nature is Spirit focused. The new nature looks to fulfill His way and results in a righteous life.
It is either MY way or HIS way. Can you trust Jesus to be everything you need enough to submit – and to let go of your own selfish desires to His loving control? Trust, Submission. Jesus is enough – let go of that issue. Trust Him with it!
When we approach life through the Law, all marked off by “do’s” and “don’ts,” our old sinful nature is charged with energy. That goes back to don’t eat the cookie.
But when we approach life in God’s new way, seeing each challenge as an opportunity to let God express Himself through us, we are on the way to victory!
What is the experience of the believer who places him (her) self under the Law? (Rom. 7:13–25)
I don’t understand my own actions. I don’t do what I want—I do the very thing I hate. Because I don’t want to do the things I do, it’s clear that I agree that what the Law says is good and right. I’m that much in harmony with God, anyway. But somehow, I’m not in control of my own actions! Some sinful force within me takes over and acts through my body. I know that nothing good exists in the old me. The sin nature is so warped that even when I desire good, I somehow can’t do it. Sin, dwelling in me, is to blame for this situation. It all seems hopeless! The fact is that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. In my inmost self I delight in God’s law. But another principle wars with the desire to obey and brings me as a captive to my knees before the principle of indwelling sin.
Romans 7:15–23 (author’s paraphrase) Lawrence Richards
Paul goes through all that just to say he cannot keep the law and we need to understand we can’t either.
Paul’s effort to keep the Law, with which he agreed, had failed. The sin nature kept enough control over him to make it plain that no matter how he tried to keep the Law, he fell far short of the holiness and goodness it reveals.
Paul found striving to keep the Law through self-effort resulted in keeping the sin nature activated That sounds so hopeless… so what are we to do?
What happens to a believer who relates to God through the Holy Spirit?
Romans 7 ended with a cry: “What a wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v. 24) “Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” v 25
Victory answered. “There is now no condemnation … because through Christ Jesus the law [principle] of the Spirit of life set me free from the law [principle] of sin and death.”
Sin within is overcome by a new and powerful principle, that of “the Spirit of life.”
Put simply, Paul found his answer in realizing that even as a believer he could not keep the Law … but at this point in his life he was no longer trying!
Paul no longer felt any obligation to try! Paul had finally accepted himself as a sinner, with no hope of pleasing God IN HIMSELF. So, Paul turned his gaze back to the Cross, and found joy in the thought of “no condemnation.” We can do the same!
But then Paul made a greater discovery!
When he stopped trying, and instead relied on God to express His own divine life through Paul’s personality and giftedness, then “the righteous requirements of the Law” were “fully met” in him (v. 4). Yes, Sin lived in Paul and sin lives in us. But Christ lived in Paul and Christ lives is us too!!
Romans 5:17,
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one-man Jesus Christ.”
We reign with Jesus in this life. We are part of His Kingdom now! We are heirs with Jesus – we have everything we need. The hard part for us is to live in that fact. We keep striving for things we think we need and we already have it! Jesus really is all we need.
Let me compare Romans 7 and 8 to see the continued progression of Paul’s thoughts.
I struggle to keep the law vs I yield myself to Jesus.
If Paul concentrated on keeping the Law rather than on trusting Jesus, his old nature was stimulated, and he sinned. So is ours!
When Paul concentrated on trusting/ yielding/surrendering to Jesus, the Spirit energized his new nature and he found himself living a righteous life. So can you!
Paul realized the battlefield of self-effort can be replaced with Spirit Enablement.
We either battle with our minds and self-will or we rest in our relationship with Jesus. Our obligation, then, is not to the Law, but to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit (vs. 12, 14). The Law has been replaced by an intimate, personal relationship with God. (V 14 …those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.) Personal!!
Trying to strive to be good results in sin. Walking in relationship with Jesus results in the requirements of the Law are fulfilled in you.
How can relationship be the key to moral victory? How does relationship produce righteousness? Paul showed us that as we deepen our relationship with the Lord, the Spirit of God gains more and more
control over our lives. Then the Spirit will “give life to your mortal bodies” (v. 11). Yes, in our mortality we are in the grip of sin. Let me be clear, sin is not our master. We do not have to obey it. You see the
resurrection of Jesus paid for that. It has always taken resurrection, life from the dead, for God to express Himself in human beings. And resurrection is exactly what God provides for those who “live in accordance with the Spirit” and “have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (v. 15).
Earlier in his letter, Paul says all men are spiritually dead; they desperately need righteousness and can only receive it as a gift. Then, in Romans 8, focusing on the Likeness of Jesus (Rom. 8:18–30). This is Paul’s explanation of how the Gospel produces righteousness in a believer. God has chosen to shape redeemed men in the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ (v. 28). It is our destiny to be like Jesus!! God is committed to produce the fruit of the Spirit in us!
Let me remind you of what Paul said in Romans 6:22, “But since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God (that’s the submission which gives freedom), you have your fruit which results in sanctification – and the outcome is eternal life!”
God is committed to help us be like Jesus. He understands that takes time. Jesus asks us to let Him show us how to give up our selfish desires. That does not come naturally.
This divine commitment means ultimately the renewal and transformation of the whole creation. It means that one day sin will be demolished and that we will be “brought into the glorious freedom of the
children of God” (v. 21). It also means that we now have hope. In 2 Cor. 3:18 Paul spoke of a progressive transformation, of a growth in Christlikeness which we can expect to take place. “We … are being
(Passive – done by another) transformed into His likeness,” Paul wrote the Corinthians, “with ever-
increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). As the Spirit of God shapes the likeness of Jesus within us, we need never concern ourselves with Law. When we let go of the need to be in control the life of Jesus will overflow in spontaneous righteousness.
What the Law never was able to produce, the Spirit of God within us is producing, even now. Rest in Him! There is a Primary difference between life based in law and life in the Spirit. When you are focused on the law you work toward a personal code of conduct. That is contrary to the Gospel. We cannot save ourselves by self-effort.
The Gospel is that Jesus has already done what is necessary.
My encouragement to you is to let go of personal striving and let the Holy Spirit flow through your personality and giftedness.
Let me share with you a personal testimony that I trust will be helpful in explaining what this looks like…
My stated goal at work is to give glory to God. I love my job because it is a perfect fit for my Spiritual gifts. However, over the last couple of months I have not enjoyed going to work. I was making suggestions to help make the dining room more efficient, but no one was listening and making the changes I thought needed to be made. I was not getting the recognition, the respect, the glory I thought was due me.
Have you noticed how many times the word “I” was used in this illustration? Then through Scripture readings, and a book called Understanding People by Larry Crabb the Spirit got my attention.
While driving to work it became clear that I was not focusing on giving glory to God as I thought. My thinking had become selfish, and I wanted recognition. I was literally living this passage.
I repented of my selfish desires and began to praise God for the Spiritual gifts He has given. I asked the Holy Spirit to remind me of how God wants to move through me to bless others.
Are you ready to repent of your selfish desires? I know many of you have situations in your life in which you are fighting against the leading of the Spirit. Lately I have been asking myself am I, in this moment exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit? If the Spirit reveals to me I’m not I stop and repent. Sometimes that repentance is several times during the same conversation or situation.
I have also been reminded several times lately that we are to do everything without grumbling or complaining. I can do that inside my own head – it’s still wrong. I still must repent. So do you. Come as we sing.
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 914
Today’s hymn focus will be
Faith is the Victory
1 John 5:4 (NASB95)
“ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
John Yates was known for his beautiful poetry, first being published in the local paper, then soon thereafter in Harper’s Bazaar and other national magazines. He was a shoe salesman by trade but served as a lay preacher in the Methodist church. In 1878, his faith was severely tested when his wife and two sons died within a week of each other after an outbreak of diphtheria.
He later remarried and shared poems and messages of faith in the promises of God and how He supplies the victory. In 1891, he sent the words to this hymn to Ira Sankey who was the song director for the D.L. Moody evangelistic campaigns. He wrote the music for this hymn that is still sung today.
Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
O, glorious victory that overcomes the world!
We need to wake up and take hold of this glorious promise of God! He is the one who will give us the victory, for He has overcome the world.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
Faith is the Victory
Encamped along the hills of light,
Ye Christian soldiers rise,
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies;
Against the foe in vales below
Let all our strength be hurled;
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.
Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.
His banner over us is love,
Our sword the Word of God;
We tread the road the saints before
With shouts of triumph trod.
By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
Swept on o’er every field;
The faith by which they conquered death
Is still our shining shield.
On every hand the foe we find
Drawn up in dread array;
Let tents of ease be left behind,
And onward to the fray.
Salvation’s helmet on each head,
With truth all girt about,
The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
And echo with our shout.
To him that overcomes the foe,
White raiment shall be giv’n;
Before the angels he shall know
His name confessed in heav’n;
Then onward from the hills of light,
Our hearts with love aflame,
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
In Jesus’ conqu’ring name.
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Seize the Moment – Day 913
Don’t Miss Opportunities for Peace!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 16.
Are you missing opportunities for peace? One of the most damaging things we do to our peace of mind, and relational well-being, is impute wrong motives onto people – we read into people’s words, and we judge them because we presume to know their motives. If you do this, you are projecting the anxiety and fear of your own mind and heart onto others.
If you find yourself frequently in hostilities with others, whether real or perceived, it’s because you are losing on the battlefield of your own mind. When you are expending energy on an internal war, how do you expect to have the energy to “be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50; cf. Romans 12:18). That is exactly what we see happening in 1 Chronicles 19:1-3:
Now it came about after this, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son became king in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him. But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David is honoring your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?”
Nahash imputed evil motives on David’s peaceful actions, and, in doing so, missed an opportunity for peace. You don’t have to make the same mistake!
Seize the moment and invite the Holy Spirit to guard your heart and mind with the peace of Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:6-7). Peace with others flows from peace with yourself, both of which are made possible by letting “the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15-17).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Seize the Moment – Day 912
Rest on Every Side!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, September 15. Please join me in wishing a happy birthday to Layla McKnight.
Do you struggle to rest? Whether it is getting good sleep, turning off your worry, living at peace with your family, being content at work, or ceasing your ambition, do you struggle to enter God’s rest (Hebrews 4:11)?
Are you experiencing the righteous rule of King Jesus and his gracious offer of “rest for your soul” (Matthew 11:28-30)? Is the peace of God which surpasses all human comprehension guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7)?
With God’s help, you can experience rest on every side of your life! Twice, in 1 Chronicles 18:6 & 13, the Chronicler emphasized that it was the Lord who was helping King David, “And the Lord helped David wherever he went.” In the same way, today, it is Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who brings His kingdom of “justice and righteousness” into your life – rest in Him.
Seize the moment and diligently strive to enter the rest offered to you through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:11; Matthew 11:28-30).
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Je 22:3.
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Seize the Moment – Day 911
The Foundation of God’s House!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, September 14.
The building of a house is a beautiful metaphor for God’s people,[1] and we first find it in God’s promise to David in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12-16):
When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.
God’s covenant with David illuminates the crucial theological concept of adoption, on which the foundation for God’s house is built. God adopted David and his future family to be His family, and David’s household would be God’s dwelling place, His home forever.
God’s promise to David was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is the Rock on which our lives are built. Like God promised to David, the foundation of our house is built upon God’s adoption of us, as Paul taught in Romans 8:15, “you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” Our adoption into the family of God is our induction into His kingdom forever, which is the fulfillment of the promise of God to David.
God is building His home in us, as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Pastor Daniel Lepley is in the process of writing, Building Church. His new book explores this metaphor and its applications to how we can revitalize our churches. I have been honored to be one of his advance readers, and I believe it will be an important read for church leaders.
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Seize the Moment – Day 910
When it’s time to Party – Let’s Eat!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 13.
As an ordained Baptist minister, and as an active member of a local Baptist congregation, I can attest to you that we love to eat. Nothing makes a party successful quite like good food, and lots of it!
David agreed! He was singing and dancing as the ark of the covenant was brought home (1 Chronicles 15:26-29), and then he had a big party, described in 1 Chronicles 16:1-3:
And they brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. He distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake.
At this party, David served up a huge amount of food, not just to those in attendance, but as verse 3 states, “he distributed to everyone of Israel.” Wow! That is a lot of sacrifices to provide that much meat. This was not your typical church pitch-in, this was a fully catered meal, with the Levites on the barbeque.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Seize the Moment – Day 909
Learn from your Mistakes!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, September 12.
Wisdom is applied knowledge, and most often it is learned through good old-fashioned OJT, on-the-job training through the ups and downs of daily life. We must be humble enough to be able to learn from our mistakes. A wise person doesn’t keep repeating the same mistake, expecting different results; only a prideful, or insane, person would expect that!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 29
Battle Drill #29:
Prioritize Peace!
Proverbs 20:3 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Prioritize Peace!”
Nothing will lose a battle quicker than friendly fire! It’s demoralizing to the army when soldiers are taken away from accomplishing the mission by either intentional or unintentional friendly fire. Unfortunately, and to the detriment of our mission success, the Church of Jesus Christ has had to learn this lesson repeatedly, throughout our two-millennia history, but we must continue to learn it afresh in every generation, and on a more frequent basis within our local assemblies. The strife and division caused by infighting, and the quarrelling that comes with it must be dealt with directly by their fellow members of the body, and when people won’t listen to their brothers and sisters, then by church leaders. Just like when the blood cells in a person’s body turn against other blood cells, a congregation that turns against itself will become unhealthy, and, if not treated, will die.
It is one thing to discuss, and even debate, ideas on what the Bible teaches about different topics, but to assassinate people’s character and attack them because they don’t agree with your perspective is completely another. You see, it is ok to disagree (at least it should be!) and it’s even okay to debate the weightier issues of life and godliness, but to quarrel is never acceptable for the children of God. We, as the people of God, just like we, as Americans, have lost the civility (and humility) to prioritize peace over our own opinions and perspectives.
There is hope – the hope that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, who gives us peace with God, offers us His Holy Spirit who guards our minds and hearts with God’s peace, and invites us to live on mission as His peacemakers to all people. These are the precious and magnificent promises, and we covered all these promises of peace, in detail last year – vertical peace, internal peace, and horizontal/external peace – and this is the purpose for Christ coming and it is our mission! [To learn more about this, you can find them in my study on the Promises of God, Live Like a Champion Today: The 40 Promises in 40 Days Challenge!] Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Prioritize Peace,” by seeing what the Field Manual has to say about it.
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
We will yield “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” when we submit ourselves to the discipline of our Heavenly Father, and that includes whenever we find ourselves quarreling with our brothers and sisters, in thought, word, or deed (Hebrews 12:11). No good parent finds joy in watching his kids fight, but, rather, good parents desire to see their children cultivating a lifelong friendship. Let’s be honest, children of God, we reap what we sow! If you want to be a peacemaker during your week, in the hard places of work and life, then you must prioritize peace in here, with your church family. We are off mission whenever we quarrel.
Paul gave the following instructions about prioritizing peace in their ministries to the church to both of his famous protégés:
- Titus 3:1-11. “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”
- 2 Timothy 2:14-26. “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’ Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
Paul requires us to train ourselves according to the will of God, and the will of God is for us to become like His Son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. This requires discipline. I have repeatedly told the elders of our church that they are not allowed to be quarrelsome, but to be listeners and to be people of prayer. That if they are to speak, they do not speak from political ideology or personal perspectives, but from the Word of God. This is a hard discipline to be under, and all church leaders fail at it because we are all human, but we must prioritize peace, especially the Gospel of Peace. That means we must deal with our own heart and mind issues that war against the Prince of Peace and His Cross. We can’t give the world what we first don’t carry ourselves. That takes us into the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
Abraham avoided a quarrel by giving up the chance to seize the best portion for himself. After all, he is the one called by God, and Lot was a just a tag along. Why should he allow, nevertheless offer Lot the first choice of the land? And that question is the crux of the matter; there is our heart issue – it’s why Jesus Christ came as a servant (Philippians 2:3-11)! We are always looking out for #1 and trying to make our lives work out for us according to our own desires. Humanity, from the beginning, has proven to be a bunch of schemers, who are willing to rebel against God, and one another, to get ahead. We orchestrate events in our best interest, so that we can be the masters of our own destinies! Oh, don’t get me wrong, we give lip service to worshipping God and living for Him and His will (“take the wheel God”), but ultimately, every single person in this room has already proven that they would sell their birthright as a child of God to gain worldly happiness or comfort – it’s called sin, and according to Romans 3:23, every single one of us is guilty, deserving of judgment.
This is why Jesus Christ came – to rescue us from the grip of our selfish ambition and vain conceit, the sin that seeks our own desires (Philippians 2:3-4). Apart from Jesus Christ, we are not at peace with God; therefore, we cannot be at peace with ourselves, or with others. While we can orchestrate a cease fire, which only works as long as it benefits everyone according to their own desires (well, at least until someone feels like they get a better deal by breaking the cease fire). That’s the peace the world has to offer; it is a counterfeit of what God offers us through Jesus Christ. Jesus promised in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
As you already know, every promise of God comes with a praxis, and the praxis of peace comes with a hard discipline – the discipline of crucifixion, to carry one’s cross. In the same way Jesus had to be crucified to bring us peace with God, you must crucify your own rights to be a peacemaker. The gospel invites you to carry your cross; listen to how Jesus invited His followers to follow Him in Matthew 16:24-26:
If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
So go ahead and justify your quarreling with your pompous self-righteousness and arrogant pride, but don’t be deceived, God will not be mocked even if you are swimming in da-Nile (denial), the Bible exposes the real issues that your quarreling exposes; it cuts to the heart, as diagnosed by Jesus’ half-brother, in James 4:1-4:
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [Open your Bible and read the rest of the chapter; it’s relevant!]
With the heart condition of today’s battle drill diagnosed, and your training regimen established through Paul’s exhortations to Timothy and Titus, let’s conclude by looking at the final action step.
Action Step #4) Live on mission.
In my opinion, there is only one thing that I should ever do that is offensive to you and that is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to you without compromise, declaring that the wages of your personal sin is your death, the second death of eternal torment in Hell. There is a coming judgment, and the only solution is to humbly yourself, confess your sin, repent of it, and cry out to God for His peace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the only way to receive God’s peace, because it was Jesus Christ who came to take away God’s quarrel with you and, in His place, gives you His righteousness. The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, saved you to be peacemaker who proclaims the Gospel of God’s love with grace. Therefore, there is no place or time for you to wage a war that has already been won on the Cross of Jesus Christ. You are to declare it in word and deed; therefore, you are to prioritize peace as your way of life – vertically with God, internally within your own mind and heart, and in your relationships as you extend the gospel peace of Jesus Christ to all people, regardless of their ideologies and perspectives (Philippians 2:14-15).
I dream of peace within the people of God. While it feels like a pipe dream in today’s world, nonetheless, I pray for it, and I prioritize working together with God’s people, His Church, to fulfill the angelic proclamation that accompanied the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Peace is the good fruit of the Christmas miracle!
We are the branches upon which we are to bear that fruit! It is the Holy Spirit who brings peace to the nations through the coming of the Messiah. That is the promise of Isaiah 9:6-7:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
The Holy Spirit works through the people of God to accomplish this purpose for the coming of Jesus Christ. God is bringing the world under His peace, through the Church’s faithful proclamation of the Gospel of Peace, in preparation for the Messianic Kingdom. This is what He has saved you for, He bestowed love and grace upon you, to give you peace and reconciliation, to enlist you for His peace-making mission. As Paul stated in Romans 5:8-11:
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Prioritize peace today. I pray Paul’s words from Colossians 3:15 over you, “[may] the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.
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